Redwood, Amherst Chop Down Keene St.

from press release

AMHERST, Mass. – Junior attack Evan Redwood paced
the Amherst offense with a game-high four goals as the Lord Jeffs
used a 4-0 fourth quarter run to pull away from visiting Keene
State College en route to a 12-8 victory in the opening round of
the 2011 NCAA Tournament on Gooding Field in Amherst, MA.

The Lord Jeffs, making their first-ever appearance in the men's
lacrosse championship, snapped the Owls' 11-game win-streak,
improving to 14-2 overall on the season, while the Keene St. fell
to 14-3 overall and 2-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

With the win, Amherst moves on to face fellow NESCAC rival
Middlebury College, which defeated Castleton College 24-7 in its
opening round match-up. The Jeffs defeated the Panthers 9-7 in a
conference showdown on Apr. 6, marking the program's first win over
Middlebury since 1989.

First-year Devin Acton (Sudbury, MA) finished with a game-high
five points on a goal and four assists, while junior attack Cole
Cherney (Chappaqua, NY) chipped in with a hat-trick. Sophomore
midfielder Ramsey Bates (McLean, VA) added a pair of scores, while
junior Alex Fox (Garden City, NY) and sophomore Jeff Izzo
(Plandome, NY) combined for two goals and three assists.

Keene St. junior attackmen Griffin Meehan and Matt Schairer and
sophomore midfielder Ian Hart each netted a pair of scores to pace
the Owls, with the trio also combining for five assists. Senior
Warren Dill and junior Chris Mallon each got on the board for Keene
with a goal apiece. Sophomore netminder Jason Lesser made 17 stops
in the loss.

Amherst, which went 21-for-22 on clears, held a decisive 50-24
shot advantage, while holding a 44-22 edge in ground balls and slim
12-10 advantage in face-offs.

Looking to take an early edge Keene St. took advantage of an
Amherst tripping penalty just after the face-off as Hart took a
pass from on the left side before firing a shot into the Lord
Jeffs' netting at 13:54.

Hoping to keep pace, Amherst wasted no time getting on the board
as Fox found an open Bates at 11:06 for the home team's first
score. Undaunted, the Owls went back on the offensive, as Hart fed
Schairer, who promptly ripped a tracer past Jakimo less than three
and a half minutes after Bates' tally.

Needing to respond, Acton made a run down the right side toward
the Keene St. net before finding a cutting Redwood in front of the
goal for the Purple and White's second goal. Minutes later, Redwood
spotted an open Cherney, but the junior attack sent the ensuing
shot off the right post as both teams entered the second knotted at
two.

Continuing to stay aggressive, Redwood spared little time
breaking the deadlock, ripping a hard shot past Lesser just 1:05
into the second period. Moments later, Keene St. would draw a
30-second pushing penalty, opening the door for the Owls man-up
offense. With time winding down on the penalty, Hart connected with
Meehan, who pulled Keene even with the squad's third score of the
afternoon.

Wanting to stem the surging Owls tide, Amherst quickly got back
on track, burying consecutive goals just 35 seconds apart to take a
5-3 lead. Izzo got the Lord Jeffs spurt started at 9:18, sneaking a
low, bouncing shot just inside the left post before Acton turned a
Cherney pass into Amherst's fifth tally.

With momentum swinging toward the Jeffs, Keene pushed the pace,
quickly switching the field and going on the break, as sophomore
attack Taylor Jette dumped it to a trailing Dill, who raced to the
front of the Amherst goal, putting away the Owls fourth score with
6:21 left in the half. The Lord Jeffs responded by outshooting
Keene 5-1 for the remainder of the quarter, but could not add to
their cushion as Amherst headed into the intermission with a slim
5-4 margin.

Trying to add to the Lord Jeffs' lead coming out of the break,
an opportunistic Redwood picked off an Alex Cuomo pass just in
front of the Keene goal before flipping it over his shoulder into
an open Owls' net just 1:10 into the third.

Searching for more, Izzo made a move down the right side just
under the seven minute mark before finding Cherney alone in the
middle of the field, as the Chappaqua, NY native put away a high
shot while falling to the ground to extend the margin to three.
Just over a minute and a half later, Fox buried Amherst's
third-consecutive goal, dodging a couple of Keene St. defenders
while moving toward his left before ripping a shot across his body
to put the Lord Jeffs up 8-4.

Looking to slow Amherst, Hart made a nice cut toward the goal
before finishing with a shot to the right side of the Lord Jeffs
netting with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Continuing to push forward, Keene St. junior Matt Crimmins got a
wide open look from the front of the Amherst goal, but sent the
shot off the post to keep it at 8-5.

Still down three entering the final period, Keene got a chance
to cut into the Amherst cushion thanks to a pair of quick
penalties, but Jakimo and the Lord Jeff defense held the visitors
at bay, protecting the lead. Hoping to put the game away, Amherst
answered by mounting a 4-0 run over the next 3:08 of action to
extend their lead to six.

Redwood got things started, scoring on an Acton assist at 10:30
to make it 9-5. Acton then combined with Cherney for a pair of
scores just 48 seconds apart, while Bates capped off the Lord Jeffs
decisive run, taking a Fox pass before spinning and rifling the
squad's 12th goal past Lesser at 7:22.

With under a minute to go, Keene St. first-year midfielder
Andrew Fazio found a streaking Mallon on a fast-break, ending
Amherst's streak of four-consecutive goals with their first score
of the fourth period coming at the 43 second mark. Meehan and
Schairer each tacked on a goal down the stretch but it proved to be
too little too late as Amherst hung on for the 12-8 victory.